The Inner Symbolism of Sumi-e Serpent Paintings

The serpent is foremost among the myriad symbols that have come to represent the ever changing nature of relative reality in many cultures.

Everything is symbolic of itself and all the factors that contribute to its arising within the moment. Therefore all experience is the totality of all that has gone before, is yet to come, and how one’s mind interprets the symbolism of the experience itself. Who we are right now is not who we were yesterday, as our minds and bodies are in no way fixed objects of identity.

The symbolic message of the serpent is the complete embracing of this process of change. Through the serpent’s process of molting the skin on a yearly basis, it is continually reborn into a new way of being, thus, the serpent becomes representative of the constant universal process of change and transformation.  In the embracing of this change, and the identifying of that which is changeless, we come live in harmony with life and its meaning. Holy men have referred to this as being in the moment, or living in the Tao, or being one with the divine.

The true realization of the universe, and all of the life contained within it, as being in a constant state of change allows for a tremendous wealth and richness to arise in one’s experience of life. For this reason, the serpent has always been considered a sign of wealth.

An acceptance of change, death, and transformation on a deep level also brings about protection from deluded mental states and cravings that lead to direct palpable experiences of suffering. For this reason the serpent has also always been seen as a symbol of protection.